


Now That It's Over

by burn0utx



Category: Slipknot (Band), Stone Sour (Band)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Arguing, Emotional Hurt, Face-Fucking, Friends With Benefits, Hate Sex, M/M, Mutual Masturbation, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:48:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27894091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burn0utx/pseuds/burn0utx
Summary: Corey tells Jim he's out of Stone Sour.
Relationships: Jim Root/Corey Taylor
Comments: 30
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure Jim actually got a phone call to say he was out of the band. But that's not as fun.

”What do you mean, I’m _‘out’_ of Stone Sour?” Jim asked, his tone incredulous.

Corey had invited himself over to Jim’s house, with the reason of ‘needing to talk about new Stone Sour music’. While on the phone to Jim, he hadn’t mentioned that new Stone Sour wouldn’t include Jim. Which was the real reason he had rocked up.

The two men stood in Jim’s kitchen; Jim with his back to Corey as he made them both coffee, with Corey only a few feet behind him. Jim had just finished making the drinks when Corey dropped the bombshell, and was currently refusing to turn around.

Jim was certain that this had to be a fucked up joke.

”I’m sorry.” Corey’s voice came from behind him, soft and quiet.

”You’re _sorry?_ ” Jim couldn’t help but laugh, although he was aware of the way he could hear his heart beating in his ears now. Realisation was beginning to sink in. But surely not. This was a joke, right?

”You don’t need to fuck with me, Corey. You came over here to talk about new music. To talk about what’s next for us.” Jim finally turned to face the smaller man, unaware of the way his hands were shaking when he extended an arm to Corey to offer him his mug.

Corey looked concerned. He took his coffee from Jim, before almost immediately setting it back down on one of the other kitchen counters.

Jim was trying to play it cool. With every second that passed without ‘The Great Big Mouth’ uttering a single word, doubts began to creep into Jim’s mind.

”Come on, man,” Corey finally spoke up. “You know this isn’t working for you, so it isn’t working for us.”

And Jim was usually a quiet, contained man, but he could feel his blood starting to boil. Snapping wasn’t his thing. Usually the man in front of him was the one who had a lot to say — a lot to shout about. Today, it seemed as if the roles were reversing. But Jim liked to think he was a good actor, so right now he was keeping a lid on it. Trying to contain himself.

Jim felt like static had replaced his brain. He couldn’t think, and the room around him was too quiet. For once in his life, he was Corey would start his usual blabbering and refusal to shut the fuck up. But the fact he was quiet was only making this worse. He just wanted him to _talk_ , to explain it all. This made absolutely no sense — it had come right out of nowhere, with no warning at all!

”Hey.” Corey spoke up again and took a step towards Jim.

” _Don’t_.” Jim held a hand out to stop Corey, turning his head away from him. He had to close his eyes for a moment and take a deep breath, in some sort of attempt to ground himself again.

Jim’s mind was still blank, save for one memory that was creeping back to him. It was one he would never forget, but also one he didn’t like to think about often.

Hell, it was nearly twenty years ago now, but he could remember exactly how it felt. How fucking _pissed_ he was when Corey originally left Stone Sour for Slipknot. And what did Jim do? Follow him, of course. When he was over the bitterness — or when he pretended to be. Now he _dared_ to kick Jim from _their_ band? After all this time?

Jim’s hands fell to his sides and he gripped the edge of the kitchen counter behind him. Decades ago, yet it all felt the same to him, here today. The feeling of this anger, this rage, this _disgust_ building up inside him made him want to vomit.

And Corey, being the persistent idiot he was, stepped closer to Jim and laid a hand upon his shoulder.

Jim’s head whipped round, his eyes wide in a glare at Corey, while baby blues stared right back into his soul. Jim harshly shrugged his shoulder to get rid of Corey’s touch, but the smaller man only gripped his shoulder harder. Jim looked at Corey’s hand as if it had personally insulted him.

”Look, I know you’re not happy. I want you to be happy. I don’t want to force you to do shit if your heart’s not in it,” Corey sighed. “We’ve been doing this a long time. Nothing will change with Slipknot. I know that’s where your heart lays. If Stone Sour isn’t your thing anymore, it’s okay.”

”It’s _okay_?” Jim spat. “Okay for you to make decisions for me? Maybe in your eyes. But I didn’t get a single fucking word in on this, and _you’ve_ somehow figured out what I want or don’t want to do? How do _you_ know what’s good for me?”

”James—” Corey tried, concern in his eyes.

”Don’t you _James_ me!” Jim grabbed hold of Corey’s wrist and yanked his hand away from his shoulder. “You came here with false pretenses. You didn’t even think to ask me first. It’s _dishonest_. I thought you knew better.”

Jim could see when Corey was angry. He was always the first to know when he was about to blow. It was like a spark in his eye had ignited something. Corey’s jaw ticked and he snatched his arm back from Jim, squaring up to the tall guitarist.

”Don’t you call me dishonest! _I’m_ trying to fucking help you! I wasn’t going to tell you over the fucking phone, was I? God, Jim, you know you’re like a brother to me. I want to do what’s best for you!”

”What’s best for me, or what’s best for Stone Sour? Or maybe even, what’s best for you?”

”Shut up!” Corey harshly poked his finger into Jim’s chest. Jim had to force himself not to flinch. _Ouch_. If Corey was taller, they’d be nose to nose right now. “Would you rather I hadn’t spoken to you at all? I could’ve just sent you a shitty fucking text message saying you’re out, but here I am, trying to work it out with you!”

The thing with Corey was that if he kept his mouth shut a little longer, was a little more polite, a little bit quieter, he wouldn’t end up in half the shit he gets himself into, nor half as many arguments. And the more he fired up at Jim, the more Jim could feel seething hot anger running through his veins. And he couldn’t get away from the cause, which would only make matters worse.

Corey was still rattling on, yelling and cursing away at Jim, but Jim had known him for so long that he was able to tune him out eventually. Jim could only shake his head at him. He didn’t care what the younger man was saying. He already knew it was all straight up bullshit.

The thing is, Corey also knew when Jim wasn’t paying attention.

”Hey!” Corey shouted and shoved Jim backwards.

Jim lost his footing, only momentarily, but then he was straightening himself up and shoving Corey right back into the nearest wall.

” _Don’t_ you fucking touch me!” Jim lowered his head towards Corey as he spoke, boxing him in with both of his hands against the wall, either side of the singer’s head. “Don’t come in here, to my house, and start picking fights with me, Corey!”

”You never gave me a chance!” Corey argued back. “You put your defenses up right away and started getting shitty with me. Maybe if you’d _listened_ to me and just shut up for five fucking minutes, this wouldn’t be such an issue!”

And the more he went on, the more Jim really just wanted him to shut. The fuck. Up. For a second, Jim thought about strangling him, but figured that Corey would actually get a kick out of it instead.

Jim’s grip on Corey’s shoulders remained firm. He knew there would be fingerprint shaped bruises there tomorrow, and that he was probably hurting Corey, but Corey didn’t seem to care nor acknowledge it.

And then, Jim did find himself abruptly shoving a hand against Corey’s throat and curling his fingers around that famous neck.

But it worked. Corey immediately, _finally_ stopped talking, and was staring up at Jim with wide eyes.

Jim couldn’t help but smirk to himself. He wasn’t hurting the younger man now or applying much pressure to his neck, but it was enough to shut him up, which Jim was grateful for. Maybe he’d get at least a couple of seconds to think and calm himself down.

Until he was distracted by a whimper coming from the singer.

Jim cocked an eyebrow at him, confused. He knew he wasn’t hurting him so why—

Corey shifted his hips forward and Jim felt a hardness pressing against his thigh. His eyes widened as he was caught off guard and he swore he felt lightheaded from his own blood rushing south so fast.

”You—“ Jim tried, his voice wavering initially. “You _like_ this?”

And it was a stupid question. He’d known Corey too long. So when the smaller man laughed meekly, it was all the confirmation he needed.

They’d been here before. Fooling around with each other. Not all of the time, but often enough over the years. Touring got lonely, and there was a lot of fucking testosterone on that bus and in those hotel rooms. Sometimes, things would just kind of happen. They’d help each other out.

Jim clenched his jaw and turned his head away, trying to think of something to bring him back down to reality, but the way Corey had been staring up at him and the throbbing in his jeans was too much. His mind was gone. As if things hadn’t already been heated enough beforehand.

Jim tightened his fingers around Corey’s neck and was met with some sort of cross between a whine and a moan. Corey pressed his hips forwards _again_ , and Jim fucking snapped before he could cum in his pants.

”Knees.” He commanded, already starting to push Corey to the floor.

And Corey, of course, immediately obeyed, dropping to the floor and brushing his nose against the front of the evident bulge Jim’s jeans.

Jim, with shaky hands, reached down and began to unbuckle his belt. A part of him was telling him this wasn’t a good idea, not the place and not the time, but mostly he just wanted to fucking destroy Corey.

As soon as Jim’s jeans fell to his knees, Corey was mouthing over the fabric of his boxers. Jim hissed through his teeth and leaned his head back, enjoying the wet warmth of Corey’s mouth already. And while he was distracted, Corey took the lead and yanked down his boxers.

Jim emitted a sigh when his cock finally sprung free and turned his attention to the singer again. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at the expression on Corey’s face. Twenty years and nothing changes. Corey always acted like Jim was the biggest on the planet. Jim was rational and didn’t suffer from ‘dick brain’ so he knew otherwise. He was just thankful he had more than enough to stuff down that sweet throat.

As Corey leaned forward and parted his lips, Jim hooked his thumb inside the singer’s cheek and pulled his head back so he would meet his gaze.

”Wait.” It was a simple statement. Jim allowed Corey to close his mouth around his thumb and suck on it for a moment, but then Jim was pulling his thumb free and guiding his cock towards Corey’s mouth instead.

Corey only parted his lips ever so slightly when Jim rubbed the head of his cock against them. He kept Jim’s gaze and sat ever so still on his knees, just _finally_ behaving.

”Open.”

And now, Jim was prepared to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Corey opened up his mouth and Jim pushed into it with ease, allowing himself to immediately sink in further than he usually would at first and catching Corey off guard by bumping the head of his cock against the entrance to Corey’s throat.

He smirked once more when Corey let out a surprised gag. And fuck, how he wished he hadn’t shaved his head so he could tangle his hair around his fist and fuck the breath out of him. Well, he still planned on the latter part of that.

Jim pulled his hips back and Corey closed his lips around the girth of his cock, almost sucking the soul straight out of Jim’s body. Jim grunted in response, allowing Corey a few seconds to just bob his head and please Jim by himself. Oh how things had changed in a matter of minutes. Corey was nice when he had his mouth full.

Jim couldn’t help his soft sighs and moans as Corey continued to suck him, swirling his tongue around the head of his cock and dragging the tip over his frenulum. But then Jim dropped a hand down to grasp Corey’s jaw and dug his fingers into his cheeks.

Corey’s mouth fell open and Jim began to thrust.

Corey sat still, obedient and patient and submissive as ever, still staring up at Jim with his baby blues as Jim began to quickly fuck into his mouth, enjoying the hot, wet slide of Corey’s tongue creating friction against the underside of his dick. He kept his hand on Corey’s jaw, although he knew well that he would stay exactly like this if he removed it. But this time it was different.

Soon enough, Jim began to fuck Corey’s mouth a little deeper. Corey stared up at him, his eyes starting to water as Jim began to hit his throat again. Again, Jim wanted more.

Corey was getting him real wet. Spit was beginning to run down his chin. Jim took his chances and as his other hand grasped the back of Corey’s head, he thrust his hips forward quickly so his cock would plunge down Corey’s throat.

Corey’s throat contracted in a silent gag around his cock and Jim couldn’t help the loud moan that fell from his lips. He threw his head back and kept the pace up, quickly thrusting into Corey’s mouth and breaching his throat every time, making sure to drag Corey’s head forwards at the same time to meet him in the middle.

There were tears streaming down Corey’s face when Jim looked at him again. God, he was so fucked out already, gagging, drooling and crying over Jim’s cock. His lips were red and swollen. Jim didn’t know how much more he could take.

Jim pulled back for a moment just to let Corey have a breather, and maybe regain some of his sanity himself, but as soon as Corey stopped sniffling and gagging for even a _second_ , Jim was eagerly pushing into his mouth again.

Corey tested his limits almost every fucking day with his stupid mouth. But god, Jim loved to test his limits like this.

After a few more quick thrusts into Corey’s mouth, Jim shoved Corey’s head back, allowing it to thud against the wall. Jim followed, once again pushing his cock into Corey’s throat. Corey gagged around his length again and Jim stilled with another loud moan, Corey’s nose buried in Jim’s pubic hair as Jim came down Corey’s throat.

Jim slumped against the wall above Corey, burying his face into his forearms and huffing into them as his cock continued to kick with the last of his orgasm. As soon as he was spent, he pulled out of Corey’s mouth, but still stayed in the same position above him.

Corey fell forwards against Jim, coughing and spluttering harshly into one of his thighs. Jim hardly even noticed. He was sure he’d reached another dimension after that.

When Jim could be bothered to move, he only did so to pull his underwear and jeans back up. As he buckled his belt, Corey clung to his legs, curling himself around them as his face stayed hidden in Jim’s thigh.

Jim released a heavy sigh when Corey looked up at him, throughly fucked out.

”S-Sorry—“ Corey tried, his voice hoarse and quiet as his speaking caused him to start coughing again.

”Hey,” and Jim was still incredibly mad at him, but he wasn’t an asshole. “You good?”

Corey didn’t speak this time, instead he nodded his head and smiled stupidly. Jim offered a hand out to him and he took it, allowing Jim to pull him to his feet.

Jim would be lying if he said he didn’t feel guilty. When they’d fooled around in the past, they were always rough with each other, but not like today. Jim took a deep breath and turned away from Corey. He ran a hand through his hair and went to fetch Corey a glass of water. When he turned around again, Corey had lit a cigarette and was leaning back against the wall with a foot propped against it, wiping his face on his forearm.

You think that’s a good idea?” Jim motioned to the cigarette and Corey shrugged his shoulders. As he took the glass of water from Jim and began to drink, Jim took the cigarette from him and took a long drag from it.

”Hey.” Corey frowned. He was already starting to sound a bit better, but they both knew he’d have a bit of hoarseness and a sore throat for a couple of days to come. At least they weren’t currently touring.

Jim blew the smoke out from his nose and handed the cigarette back to Corey. After Corey had taken a puff, he began to speak again.

”I’m sorry, Jim, I really am. I just want you to be happy.”

”Don’t.” Jim looked away from the younger man again.

”Alright,” Corey sighed, his breath full of smoke. He straightened himself up, finished off the glass of water and set the cigarette back between his lips. “I’ll go.”

Jim didn’t follow Corey when he headed to the door.

”Do you forgive me?” Corey’s voice came as he stalled in the doorway when he was halfway out of it.

”No,” came Jim’s response, with zero hesitation. “And I won’t for a while.”

Without another word, Corey closed the door behind him and Jim was left alone with his thoughts once more. He was just glad they’d managed to clear some of the seething anger and tension.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. It seems I have decided to turn this into a sort of mini work instead of a one shot. I hinted at previous gay in the first chapter so let's bring it back to their first rodeo.

**Summer, 2000**

Jim was tired. He knew when he joined Slipknot that touring would be difficult, but this felt relentless. Sure, he was with his brothers, his best friends, but it was easy to get sick of eight other dudes pretty quickly. And he was thankful that he was getting to travel the world and see bits and pieces of other countries when they had the bare minimum amount of downtime, but god, he was so _tired_.

Jim dumped his bag on the floor, next to one of the beds. They’d scored a hotel room for tonight, which he was more than thankful for. Tour bus bunks weren’t the most comfortable at the best of times, let alone for someone of his stature. At least tonight he’d be able to get really comfortable and hopefully have a good sleep.

It came at a cost, though. He wouldn’t be getting the room to himself. He’d be sharing it with the frontman of both the bands he was in. Corey wasn’t bad company, really. Jim just hoped he’d settle the fuck down tonight. They all needed a break and some time to relax. Jim was sure Corey would respect that.

Corey was nowhere to be seen (or heard) but his bag was on top of the other bed in the room. Jim felt bad, but he was sort of thankful that he wasn’t here for now, even though he could bust through the door at any moment.

Jim sat down on his bed and allowed himself to fall back on top of the mattress. All he wanted was a nice, long shower, but the comfort of a _real_ bed was enticing him closer to the brink of sleep. Jim closed his eyes. A nap wouldn’t hurt.

  
  


Jim’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Corey’s dumb laughter.

He raised his head and cautiously peered around the room. For Christ’s sake, he wasn’t even in here. The laughter was coming from the fucking corridor. Could he not shut up for five fucking minutes?

Jim emitted a grunt as he pushed himself off the bed and onto his feet, snatching the blanket along with him to pull it around his shoulders. He shuffled over to the door of the hotel room, but it slammed open before he could reach it. If he was even a few inches further, it would’ve smacked him right in the face. Jim glared at Corey when he strode into the room and slammed the door shut behind him, only giving a passing glance to the dent that was now in the wall.

”Oh, sorry, man,” Corey said as he brushed past Jim, laughter still bubbling out of him. “I didn’t realise you were getting some shut-eye.”

”It’s fine,” Jim sighed, turning to follow Corey further into the room. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep, anyway.”

There was silence between the two as Corey dropped to sit on the edge of Jim’s bed. Jim cocked an eyebrow at him and Corey couldn’t contain his laughter once more.

”Dude, you fucking missed it! There was some chick at the bar, you should’ve seen Sid—” Corey fell back onto Jim’s bed and clutched at his stomach, interrupting himself with his laughter.

Jim honestly didn’t want to know, like _at all_ , but he couldn’t help the grin that worked it’s way onto his face. Corey’s laugh was stupid, yes, but also infectious.

”Man, _shut up_ , you’re such a fucking weirdo, you know?” Jim said, as he sat down next to the singer. Corey only rolled onto his stomach to smush his face against Jim’s knee.

”Ow.” He muttered, lifting his head and rubbing a hand against his forehead. His laughter soon subsided, but there was still the odd giggle coming from him.

”Aw, do I need to kiss it better?” Jim taunted. He reached out and smoothed his hand over Corey’s, where it was still rubbing over his forehead.

”And you said _I’m_ a fucking weirdo?” Corey snorted, resting his chin on Jim’s leg as he grinned up at him.

Jim was thankful that he was paired up with good-mood-Corey this time, and not rage-at-everything-Corey. The latter was like hell on earth. Once his mouth started running when he was in a bad mood, it was hard to stop it. And if you tried, you would be his next target. Jim was used to it at this point, so he didn’t bat an eyelid. But it did make his life easier when Corey _wasn’t_ like that.

”’Cos you are.” Came Jim’s reply. He didn’t think twice before pushing his fingers through Corey’s hair.

Neither of them thought about the affectionate gesture, at least at first. Corey fell into silence, with a dorky smile gracing his lips, and leaned into Jim’s touch. He allowed his eyes to fall shut as Jim continued to comb his fingers through the singer’s hair.

And then Corey's eyes snapped open and they were both giving each other a caught in the headlights, wide eyed kind of look, with Jim quickly snatching his hand back. Corey rolled onto his back once more as an awkward silence began to fill the void between them.

”Uh,” Jim coughed, his cheeks reddening as he tried to think of a way to play their little moment off. “You need to take a fucking shower. Your hair’s nasty.”

And for once, Corey Taylor did as he was told, springing off the bed and trudging towards their little bathroom, without another word between them.

  
  


Things changed for the two bandmates after that moment. In the weeks that followed, Jim didn’t fail to notice the way that Corey was softer with him. Not so boisterous, but still plenty in his face. It wasn’t enough for any of their other bandmates to pick up on — apart from _maybe_ Craig, because he said fuck all but was always watching everything going on around him — but Jim noticed. At first he thought maybe he was going crazy, imagining things, or the stupid part of his brain may have even been _hoping_ for something. Which he knew was wrong. He did not have a crush on Corey Taylor. Or whatever the fuck else was going on. They were all lonely and touring was long. That was all. It’s okay to enjoy another human’s presence or touch.

Although as much as Jim tried to fool himself, it wasn’t to be.

They had two weeks until the next tour would start. Four days into their break, Corey scared the shit out of Jim.

Jim had been in the shower, minding his own business and singing along to a radio station. Thankfully he’d decided to wrap a towel around his waist before leaving the bathroom, because when he strolled into his bedroom, Corey was just _sat there_ , not unlike a serial killer.

”Holy fuck!” Jim cursed, his hand flying up to cover his heart. He jumped so hard from surprise that he nearly bashed his head off the top of the doorframe. “What are you doing?”

”You gave me a key. Years ago.” Corey looked unfazed, but Jim didn’t miss the way that Corey’s eyes skimmed over his body.

Jim paused and frowned to himself. Did he? Oh, yeah. In the Stone Sour days when they were inseparable, until—

Corey’s laughter brought Jim back to earth. Jim cocked an eyebrow at him.

”That’s not funny,” The guitarist sighed. “I thought you were a fucking murderer or stalker or something.” Jim strolled over to his chest of drawers, digging around in one of the top ones for some underwear. His shoulders stiffened as he heard Corey approaching from behind.

”Yeah, I’m a psycho fan, breaking into your house or whatever.” Corey laughed again. He managed to get a chuckle out of Jim this time, but Jim froze up again when he felt Corey’s head resting against the back of his shoulder. Was it hot in here?

Corey’s hands found Jim’s sides and he began to trail his fingertips up and down his ribs. Jim couldn’t even blink at this point, he just stared straight ahead at the wall, as if the paint would have any idea of what was happening.

Jim cleared his throat and turned around to face the younger man. He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again.

The way Corey was staring up at him, with a playful glint in his eye, how his hands felt smoothing over Jim’s bare skin—

And then Corey leaned up and closed the gap between them.

Jim gasped into the kiss, but melted against Corey right away. Their kiss soon went from hesitant, unsure, to downright feverish. Jim grabbed onto Corey’s hips and dragged him in closer as their tongues met, pressing their bodies together as much as he could while never breaking the kiss.

Corey let out a little moan. Jim lost his mind right there. He would deal with the consequences later.

Jim began to maneuver Corey towards his bed, their lips still pressed together, tongues and teeth and all. It was messy, clumsy, but the two men couldn’t get enough of each other. Corey only pulled away when the backs of his knees hit Jim’s bed and he fell onto it, but not before he could grab a hold of Jim’s towel and pull him along with him.

Jim lost the towel before his knees even hit the mattress. And then as Corey pulled off his own shirt, he was crawling between the younger man's legs and shoving Corey back down against the bed again. This time, Jim attached his lips to the side of Corey’s neck, only being spurred on by the sound of Corey’s huffing and whining above him. He dug his teeth into Corey’s pale skin, where his neck met his shoulder, and Corey couldn’t help but moan and buck his hips up. Jim smirked to himself for a moment before lathing his tongue over the same spot, and then dragging his tongue up his neck to let a huff of air out against Corey’s ear.

Corey’s own hands were splayed over Jim’s back but were now travelling downwards to rid himself of his jeans. Jim lifted himself up for a moment and couldn’t help but find amusement in the way that Corey writhed and squirmed out of his blue jeans. Corey’s gaze shot up to Jim’s as soon as he heard the guitarist give a little chuckle. In no time at all, he was sitting up and toppling Jim over from on top of him, so he could have the upper hand.

Jim fell onto his back with a little ‘oof’, followed by a harsh little cry as Corey wrapped his fingers around Jim’s cock. Jim lolled his head backwards and bucked up into Corey’s hand, starting to thrust upwards with soft little moans and gasps as Corey began to twist and squeeze Jim’s cock with his hand. Soon they both found a rhythm and Jim began to rock his hips harder, faster, but it all came to a stop when Corey squeezed his fingers around the base of Jim’s cock and kept them there.

Jim lifted his head, frowning at Corey all while he tried to regain control over his breathing. Corey pulled away from him and Jim began to sit up. He stilled when Corey began to yank his own boxers down his thighs.

Corey discarded the fabric to the floor and then he was climbing into Jim’s lap. Jim wasted no time in catching Corey’s lips in a hungry kiss, unbothered about the way their noses uncomfortably pressed together at first. Corey wrapped his arms around Jim’s neck and kissed him back just as eagerly. The smaller man shifted himself forward in Jim’s lap until their cocks bumped against each other.

Jim pulled away from the kiss with a low hiss, pressing his forehead against Corey’s. He looked down when Corey’s fingers wrapped around his cock again and _oh_ — Corey fit his own cock alongside Jim’s and began to jerk them off together.

Jim’s hips bucked up again with a low growl forming in the back of his throat. It was too hot, too heavy, too intimate, but _fuck_ he loved it and wanted _more_.

Jim dropped his left hand to meet with Corey’s right, trapping their cocks between both of their hands. Their eyes met, and Jim wondered if he looked as fucking delirious as Corey did right now. Lord knows he felt it.

Corey’s thumb smoothed their precum around, _together_ , and as they both picked up a rhythm, their hands and dicks only became slicker and they both began to moan, groan and whimper.

Corey was swearing under his breath while Jim was muttering about how good this felt. How good he felt, with him like this.

Corey was the first to break their rhythm as he began to jerk his hips against Jim. Jim continued to rock his hips steadily, although his pace was picking up as he began to chase his own high. Jim tightened his hand ever so slightly around Corey’s, and then Corey was chanting a chorus of Jim’s name with his moans increasing in volume. Corey’s head fell against Jim’s shoulder when he came, hot spurts of white falling over Jim’s hand and stomach.

Corey, although oversensitive now, didn’t pull away from Jim, but instead joined their fingers together and bit down on Jim’s shoulder. Jim let out a shout as his hips jolted upward, the head of his cock bumping against Corey’s as he fucked harder into his friend’s cum-slick grip, and then he swore he saw white.

Jim didn’t consider himself loud, but as he hit his orgasm and threw his head back, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He moaned incoherently and gasped out Corey’s name, spilling over both of their hands and his best friend’s cock. Corey pressed open mouthed kisses along Jim’s shoulder as the guitarist rode out his orgasm, squeezing every last drop out of him until he fell backwards.

Jim stared up at the ceiling, panting away as Corey finally pulled his hand away from his. Jim’s hand fell against his stomach, and he grimaced at the stickiness.

Corey leaned forward and wrapped his fingers around Jim’s wrist. Jim raised his head, still trying to catch his breath. His jaw fell open when Corey raised Jim’s hand to his mouth and he took two fingers into his own mouth. He hollowed out his cheeks, closed his eyes and hummed around Jim’s fingers as he swirled his tongue around them, the taste of both of them mixed together.

Jim definitely stopped breathing at that point.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't want to get back up, but I have to, so it might as well be today.

Jim may have woken up on the wrong side of the bed today.

Or maybe it was just that recording this album was really fucking difficult. Or both.

It was the first Slipknot album without Joey. And certainly without Paul. And Jim didn’t like to think about it too much or for too long because he would get himself into a rut. Right now, he really needed to focus on this album, on his parts of this album, and just getting it done.

But on days like these, focus could be hard.

Ever since “the Jim thing” happened, as Corey oh-so-kindly was calling it, things had been up and down between the two of them. To be honest, most of the time, it was up. Or at the very least, relatively normal. But when it was down, it was all Jim could think about. Those words Corey had said to him. The excuses. The lies. The tour without him. The _being kicked out of the fucking band_ without a chance of getting a word in.

Jim frowned to himself before trying to put his focus back onto the electric guitar in his lap. He messed around with the tuners before picking out a little tune, his fingers gliding over the frets effortlessly. He could play with his eyes shut quite easily, but he didn’t like being a show off. Without the guitar plugged in, he could pick and play away without really disturbing anyone. Everyone else was caught up in their own thing. They were so close to finishing this album. It hadn’t been easy. Nothing, really, over the last 7 months or so had been easy. They all had their own shit to deal with along with the obvious tragedies, but Jim was struggling to shake that fresh feeling of betrayal.

A string snapped and Jim breathed out with a heavy sigh. Corey looked over at him from the other side of the room. Jim didn’t. Instead, he set the guitar down on the couch, stood right up and walked out of the studio.

Okay, and maybe it was hard to ignore the loud **bang** of the door hitting the wall when he opened it. He hadn’t meant to. He hadn’t given it much thought, to be honest.

As soon as Jim stepped foot outside, he was fishing into a pack of cigarettes in his front pocket. And once he had lit it and taken that first drag, he realised just how much tension he was holding at the moment.

Jim leaned back against the wall, slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke and closing his eyes. He didn’t care much for Hollywood, but he appreciated the Californian sun beaming down on him and casting its warmth over his face. Jim took another long drag, happy to be having a moment to himself. Sometimes fresh air really was all you needed — especially because it always led to a smoke break.

”Hey…”

Jim bit his tongue at the sound of a too-familiar voice. He wasn’t going to say anything _or_ acknowledge him at the moment. He was having a nice moment to himself, couldn’t Corey see that? Jim kept his eyes closed and carried on smoking.

”You good?”

Jim exhaled the smoke through his nose before turning to Corey.

”Yeah, I’m fine,” Jim responded, flicking the ash at the ground. “Why?”

”You seem distracted.”

Jim kept his gaze on the singer and shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe a little.”

On return to Iowa, Jim was going to record some more parts in his garage. Clown was going to come along too, every now and then, but Corey wanted to be there more or less all of the time to help. Jim was starting to regret offering. He could feel the tension right here, right now, so who knows what it would be like if they were all alone. Something had to give.

Corey was still waiting for Jim to give him a _proper_ answer. Jim had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He was still waiting for a proper answer, months later.

”This time is different, you know? A lot different from all the other times we’ve made a record.” Jim elaborated, despite thinking that he didn’t owe Corey shit.

”Yeah. I know.” Corey replied.

Jim blinked at him, dropped his cigarette to the floor and stamped it out before heading back inside. Throwing his focus back into his work right now was a much more preferable idea. He could feel his annoyance with Corey building back up again, and soon enough that would turn into fully fledged rage and he wouldn’t be able to contain it. Jim didn’t want a repeat of all the hurt that happened back at his place in November, when Corey broke the news to him. Plus, if he thought about it for too long, he’d remember how sweet Corey looked on his knees, taking his cock real deep down his—

Jim clenched his jaw as he reentered the studio and set about searching for the right pack of strings to replace on his guitar. He planned on replacing them all just to get himself back into some sort of focus. Back into work-mode.

_But Corey on his knees, gagging and chok—_

Jim slammed one of the drawers shut a little too hard, his fingers digging into the metal surface of the cabinet. At least three heads whipped round to stare at him. Jim ignored his bandmates, already rustling around in another drawer. _Bingo._

Jim took the correct set of strings back over to the couch and set his guitar on his lap once he sat down.

As soon as Jim was halfway through changing the set of six, Corey fucking Taylor dropped his ass down right beside him.

Jim couldn’t stand being around him anymore.

Jim stood up — making sure to not make any abrupt movements this time — but then a hand closed around his wrist. And then Corey was pulling him back down to sit with him once more.

Jim couldn’t help but glare at Corey. He should’ve just ripped his arm from his grip, gone outside, got on his motorcycle and fucked off to his hotel.

”We’ll talk later,” Corey spoke quietly, so only Jim could hear him. Not that the other guys cared much. “When everyone else is gone.”

Corey gave him some sort of reassuring smile, but Jim didn’t feel reassured in the slightest. The _audacity_. To be honest, Jim didn’t know if he held the patience to spend another few hours with Corey yet.

  
  


Clown was the last one to filter out of the studio doors.

Jim hadn’t moved a whole lot. He stayed sat in place on the worn black couch, his guitar always sat on his lap even if he wasn’t doing a whole lot with it. He got up maybe _twice_ , just to go over to Mick and rehash some guitar riffs with him. And then he’d return to his seat. Return to sitting with the man who almost infuriated him lately, all while pretending it was all okay.

Corey brushed his leg against Jim’s a couple of times. Whether by accident or delicately, Jim didn’t know. He knew he had the urge to knee Corey each time, but somehow he managed to resist.

”So…” Corey started.

”I can’t stand this.” Jim interjected. He stood up and walked away from Corey, only intent on putting his guitar away. Corey followed him.

”What do you mean?” Corey asked.

”What do I mean?” Jim laughed as he placed his guitar back in it’s sturdy case. “I can’t stand _you_ , acting like everything’s fine and dandy and great.”

”Isn’t it?”

Jim could’ve smacked his head into the wall but he chose to glare at it instead. _Seriously?_ He took a moment to zip the guitar case up before turning around to face Corey.

”How could it be?” Jim questioned. He pretended not to notice the pang of hurt deep within his chest. Was Corey that oblivious? Did he just not care?

”Jim…” Corey was frowning at him, while carefully considering his next words. “I didn’t set out to hurt you. Fuck, it was months ago. You know it was in the works before I even approached you about it.”

”I don’t know why you just didn’t talk to me in the first place, before making big decisions _for me_.” Jim crossed his arms over his chest. He had to be careful with what he said, with how he said it. Ever since ‘the Jim thing’, Jim had been paranoid about his place in Slipknot, too. What if that was gone tomorrow? Or after this album? Slipknot was the reason Stone Sour even had a chance. Slipknot was his entire life. Especially now.

”Jim, come on. Don’t act surprised. It wasn’t just me who made the decision—“

”Oh, I’m well aware of who else probably got a say in the matter,” Jim rolled his eyes. “Some people just never wanted to fucking wait.”

Corey said nothing. He couldn’t agree, but he also couldn’t disagree. 

”You _know_ there are people who don’t understand, Corey. They don’t get that we have to split our time between two bands. Some people just want to hurry up and get the paycheque. _I_ don’t want to do that, or make any kind of half assed music.”

Corey was starting to look annoyed. Jim kind of liked it.

“So you admit that you didn’t want to be a part of Stone Sour anymore?”

” _Don’t_ twist my fucking words,” Jim pointed a finger at Corey, straightening his back. “I _loved_ that band. I didn’t want to be a part of whatever _he_ wanted it to be.” Jim shrugged his shoulders, re-crossed his arms and leaned back against the table behind him. “But I guess he has his wish now. And you just allowed it.”

”I did not _allow_ it,” Corey argued. “You better watch your fucking mouth. You don’t know anything that went on, or anything that was said, because you weren’t there. You didn’t want to be, so you never showed up!”

”Why would I want to be around people like that? I’m not here to create fucking radio rock, I’m not just in it for the money. I just want to do what I love! I don’t know why _you_ out of all people would allow it.”

Corey was coming towards Jim now. Of course he looked pissed. Jim couldn’t help but smirk at him when he got closer.

”What are you gonna do?” Jim leaned down to be Corey’s height. “Hit me?”

They’d got into plenty of brawls in the past, in their earlier days. Now they were older, fist fights didn’t happen much. So, Jim didn’t expect Corey to actually swing at him. And he was surprised when he did.

Jim caught Corey’s fist in his hand. He didn’t even know how. He didn’t even flinch when. Corey took a swing at him.

“Fuck. You.” Corey spat, as Jim shoved him away.

”Don’t try and lay your fucking hands on me.” Jim was walking towards Corey now.

”Then sit down and shut the fuck up! _Talk_ to me like a normal fucking person!”

”Because you didn’t just try to smack me in the face?”

”You’re full of shit, Jim. You need to _stop_. Watch your damn mouth.” Corey sighed, the situation already deescalating itself. 

But maybe not so much for Jim.

”I’m telling you how I feel! I’m telling you what I think— how am I supposed to know?!” Jim turned away from Corey when his eyes began to sting. He buried his face into his hands and pressed the heels of his palms against his eye sockets. Not here, not now.

”Just _get over it_. Fuck. What else am I supposed to fucking do?” It didn’t take Corey long to start firing back up. “It’s done. It was months ago. It was last fucking _year_ and you’re still moping about it!”

” _Moping_ about it?” Jim turned to Corey once more and cocked an eyebrow at him. “It’s alright for you, oh mighty decision maker. God forbid anyone thinks for them-fucking-selves around here. Don’t think about fucking asking me back into that band _again_ , because it will not be third time lucky.”

Jim hadn’t even noticed the way his voice was increasingly rising in volume, or the way he was slowly approaching Corey while the younger man, for once, backed away.

”Don’t push me, Corey. I’m at my fucking limits with you. We can finish this here, now, and put it in the past, but don’t push me.”

Corey, being a smart ass, decided to literally put his hands flat against Jim’s chest and push him, quite harshly, backwards. Jim didn’t take too kindly to this and pushed him right back. And being taller, he had the upper hand. Corey tripped against the arm of the couch and landed on his back with an ‘oof’ and before he could open his stupid big mouth, Jim was on top of him, pinning him down against the leather.

”I’m not going to _fight_ you,” Jim snapped, his knees either side of Corey’s hips. “We’re not in our twenties anymore. We’re not young and stupid. Well, not all of us.”

Corey figured that Jim needed to shut the fuck up. He wanted to get this over with, yet he said nothing that was useful.

Corey locked his hands around the back of Jim’s neck and yanked him downwards, meeting him with a searing kiss. And yeah, his neck was at an uncomfortable angle against the sturdy, high arm of the couch, but he couldn’t care less. Jim looked even more awkward with all his stupid long limbs on top of Corey.

Jim, initially, tried to pull away, but Corey’s fingers stayed interlaced behind Jim’s neck and Jim couldn’t help but _melt_. And he hated it. He was angry at Corey, he shouldn’t be giving into him like this, but he was still his Corey, felt like his Corey, tasted like his Corey. Jim was pissed but at the same time he was so soft for this man.

Jim pushed his tongue into Corey’s mouth. Corey let out a pleased little sound and Jim managed to wrench Corey’s grip away from the back of his neck, whilst he was distracted. And then Jim was pinning Corey’s wrists together above his head and Corey was eagerly slinging his legs around Jim’s hips.

Jim kept his mouth on Corey’s, pinning the singer’s wrists beneath one of his large hands. He pushed his other hand up beneath Corey’s shirt, and Corey released a surprised moan when Jim pinched one of his nipples, trying to further arch up into Jim’s touch.

And their kiss was all tongues and outright sloppy and messy, but that was the way Jim loved it. That was what drove him insane, the lack of coherence or coordination. And of course, the way only he seemed to be able to make Corey Great Big Mouth Mother Fucking Taylor shut the fuck up.

Jim pulled away from Corey and released his grip on his wrists, only so the singer could practically tear off his own shirt, while Jim did exactly the same thing himself. And then Corey did something weird.

He raked his fingers through Jim’s beard.

Jim’s eyes rolled back and he thought he was going to spontaneously combust. He was vaguely aware of Corey laughing at his bold reaction. Nobody ever touched his beard. It felt weird, but also sent sparks straight down to his cock.

Jim straight up collapsed onto Corey’s chest when he did it again.

”Shut up.” He managed, at hearing Corey’s dumb laugh again, and then sunk his teeth into the side of Corey’s neck. Thankfully, it worked. But then Corey was sinking his fingers through Jim’s hair instead, which was something that also provoked a reaction.

Jim started working a line of hickies onto the side of Corey’s neck, if only to muffle his own moans. He licked, nipped and sucked at the skin as he made his way down the singer’s neck. Corey was huffing out moans above him and dropping his legs down from around Jim’s waist. His hands finally left Jim’s hair, but only so he could impatiently begin to undo his own jeans. Jim let out a grunt when the back of Corey’s hand brushed against the bulge in the front of his pants.

At least like this, the fire in Jim’s veins remained, but it was no longer anger. And he sure as shit liked to chase the line of ignition.

Corey’s hand was delving into Jim’s pants in no time at all and causing Jim to wetly gasp against the singer’s neck. Familiar fingers traced along a vein on the underside of Jim’s cock and then down the hand went to cup Jim’s balls. Jim couldn’t help it when his hips jolted into Corey’s hand.

”F-Fuck.” Jim spluttered as he pulled away from Corey and sat up on his knees. He leaned his head back and took a deep breath as he tried to regain some form of control over himself, all while being vaguely aware of Corey pushing Jim’s pants and underwear further down his thighs.

”Jim.” Corey beckoned. Even when Corey spoke to Jim like this, Jim swore he had the voice of an angel. A siren leading him into dangerous territory.

Jim dropped his head to look at Corey and almost fell apart. Corey was _smiling_ up at him — _howdarehe?_ — with all his gorgeous tattooed skin, his legs bent and his knees apart. Jim clenched his jaw. _No lube_.

And then a cool, wet hand was wrapped around his cock.

Jim’s eyed widened as he released an involuntary moan. Corey was grinning up at him now, _that sly—_ Of course he was prepared. Jim wanted to know if this was his plan the entire time, but he didn’t have the mental capacity to process that thought currently.

”Take me.” Corey purred, his legs hooking around Jim’s hips and dragging him forward.

Jim wanted to protest that Corey wasn’t ready yet, that this wasn’t how they did these things in the past, but another part of Jim wanted Corey to feel this for _days_ , to hurt over it the same way that Jim had been constantly carrying an ache in his bones.

Jim couldn’t help a snarl when he pushed the head of his cock past Corey’s entrance, guiding himself with a hand wrapped around his length. Jim’s other hand was gripping onto one of Corey’s thighs, pushing his knee up towards his chest. Corey stiffened and let out a long whine while slowly, Jim slid straight home. Corey’s arms were stretched far above his head, his hands hanging in midair. He looked like an angel. Jim tried to push the thought from his mind. Right now, he didn’t want nor need to think.

Jim gave Corey maybe a whole minute before he began to move. And that was mainly because he felt like he was going to blow as soon as the heat of Corey’s body enveloped him.

Jim almost pulled out completely, before harshly burying himself to the hilt again. Corey clenched around his cock and he let out a huff of air, feeling as if all the wind was being knocked from his body.

Jim didn’t stop, though, and as he pulled back once more, his fingertips were digging into the crease of Corey’s hips and thighs, and then he was pushing into him at a better angle.

Corey gasped, whined, grunted and moaned below Jim with every movement, only spurring the guitarist on more.

Jim hardly rocked his hips forward into Corey and yanked the singer down the couch. Corey keened and threw his head back as Jim hit his prostate. As the singer arched his back, Jim’s hand was sliding up his chest and pressing his torso back down against the leather.

Jim’s mouth fell open as he continued to fuck into Corey. Harder, deeper, with each little sound that Corey made. Which weren’t little sounds, really, since if they weren’t alone they’d be getting into a bit of trouble.

Jim admired the view from above, once more. The way Corey’s body reacted to him so easily, the way he was so tight and hot wrapped around his cock, like he was made to get fucked by Jim’s dick. And boy, he behaved like it, too.

Corey’s abdomen twitched every time Jim hit his prostate, followed by a sharp moan. The younger man’s hand flew up to grip the back of the couch, stubby nails dragging down the leather and definitely leaving some marks.

But Jim wanted more. He wanted Corey to come completely undone. He needed him to.

Jim targeted Corey’s prostrate as he leaned over him, driving into him harder. He could feel his own orgasm building as he lowered his head to take Corey’s lower lip between his teeth, abusing the flesh as he sucked and nipped at it.

Corey’s hands were diving through Jim’s hair as he tried to kiss him, but Jim wouldn’t allow it. Corey tightened his thighs around Jim’s hips, lifting his own hips further off the couch. Jim pulled away from Corey’s mouth with a harsh gasp when Corey deliberately clenched around him, Jim’s arms almost giving out under his own weight. But then Jim’s hands were settling on Corey’s shoulders and keeping him pinned below him, and that’s when Corey started to lose it.

”Jim!” Corey cried, trying to reach out for him. But fuck, did he love being used like this, by his Jim. Right when the pain and the pleasure began to mix together and he couldn’t see straight anymore. That was his happy place.

Corey’s head lolled backwards when his eyes rolled back into his skull. Jim hadn’t even touched his cock, but here he was, shooting off at Jim’s stomach and up to his own chest.

Jim’s hips faltered before following Corey. His hips stilled inside the singer as he came, gasping and moaning his way through it, his eyes squeezing shut. Being with Corey like this, finishing inside him like this, always made Jim feel dizzy with desire.

And then Jim was pulling out of Corey too quickly and falling back to sit on the couch, long limbs sprawled out and dick out and all.

As Jim peeled open his eyes and regained his breath, Corey was beside him, trying to sit up. And when Corey winced, Jim couldn’t stop a fleeting smirk.

Jim tucked himself back into his boxers and yanked up his jeans. By the time he was done redressing himself, Corey had eventually managed to push himself onto his knees and just sort of fall against Jim, his head leaning on the taller man’s shoulder.

And as Jim looked at Corey, red faced and sweaty with a swollen lip, he couldn’t help but laugh. Corey barely opened his eyes but made a ‘wha’ sound.

”We should get cleaned up.” Jim stated.

When bright blue eyes looked up at him, Jim noticed he didn’t feel so angry or bitter anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit finally. I wanted to get this up like a week ago but christmas in a pandemic is even busier it seems. I already want to write more gay between these two but it'll be unrelated and separate works or one shots. All the angsty shit is based off legit interviews. Anyway thanks I hope you enjoyed this little series!!


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